So, I went to a meeting today at Nino’s school. The topic was “What should we do about the leaky roof and the missing tiles on the floor?”
I learned a lot about Italians. 🙂
First of all, I learned that they have not been able to fix the leaky roof properly for 10 years because of the bureaucracy involved. They have finally reached the end of the 10-year period, so they are ready to start talking about it. This probably means another year or so before the roof is fixed (which means the gym area cannot be used until then and there are strategically placed buckets–when it rains). 😉 Actually, one Italian asked for an estimate on when it would be done. The answer was a very definitive: “Some months.” 😉
Regardless, the meeting was entertaining (and not only because there was a decent amount of heated Italian “discussion.”).
For one thing, I noticed that the man in charge of the meeting arrived 10 minutes late. Though, that was no big deal because there were people drifting in up to nearly 1 hour after the meeting was supposed to start (each one interrupting the meeting by calling out loudly, “Good evening” as they entered).
I also noticed that the leader (pictured below in the center) was sporting a lovely pair of dark-colored tennis shoes (with metallic/reflective tongues) with his suit (though maybe he has foot problems).
I was entertained by the man who (though he was part of the group of leaders) left his seat up in front (while the speaker was speaking) to plug his phone into the wall. Clearly, he thought he was hiding his actions (behind the speaker is definitely the most inconspicuous spot to choose).
In addition, the same man, retrieved his phone to make or answer a phone call during the meeting…though I shouldn’t be too hard on him because there were others who did the same. By the way, if you cover your mouth, no one will know what you are doing. 🙂
And, yes…he wasn’t the only one. But, at least this leader got up and turned his back on the audience to take his call (you can see his empty chair and him–looking out the door).
So, there you have it. Italian meetings that are filled with difficult vocabulary and have people in an uproar can be fun. 🙂
Good thing I didn’t have to take real notes.
smb